Winter · No.24
Major Cold
Da Han
The final term of the year, cold at its peak, as households sweep, stock up and wait for New Year.
Major Cold is the last of the twenty-four terms and usually the coldest stretch of the year; a cold wave can keep temperatures below zero for days. Hens begin sitting on eggs, hawks circle more urgently, and the ice at the middle of a lake is thick enough to hold. The new year is close: houses are swept, bedding washed, window paper cut and couplets written, and the shopping done piece by piece. The north steams bread and freezes dumplings; the south cures fish and pork and makes rice cake. Beginning of Spring waits on the other side. Keep a gap for air when the stove is lit.
Three pentads
- 1
Hens begin sitting on eggs and stay put
- 2
Hawks circle more urgently and hunt harder
- 3
Ice at the middle of the lake bears a person
What people eat now
rice cake
Major Cold sits by the new year, when families steam rice cake, slice it and fry it golden, dipped in sugar.
eight-treasure rice
Eight-treasure rice appears around Major Cold, glutinous rice pressed in a bowl over dates, longan and lotus seeds, steamed and turned out.
chicken soup
Nanjing simmers an old hen at Major Cold until the broth wears a film of golden fat, finished with goji berries.
What people wear
Major Cold is the last term, the deepest cold just before the new year. Wear your heaviest coat, tuck the scarf into the collar, and do not forget gloves; for long stretches outside add a knee layer. At home, drink something hot first and undress slowly.